Essential team member.

I can’t function without my team—people I can count on to do the basics. An old friend who actually listens and cares—great savings on a therapist. My gynecologist who checks inside and tells me I don’t look my age on the outside. A stylist who cuts my hair evenly—a good haircut is essential to a happy life, along with a colorist to highlight who never gives me tiger stripes. I have an honest cleaning person, even though my husband says she takes over and he can never find anything.  Who cares? We have too much stuff anyway.  If I entertain, I may need a reliable person to help. It’s all good, and it’s my TEAM. Then there’s pedicurist who delivers happy feet and the make-up woman at the department store who gives me free samples for travel. Oh yeah, and my once-a-week acupuncturist who helps my neck move in both directions.

There’s my mate who thinks I still look as slim and young as when we met. He never notices the excess poundage.  Lucky me. Then there are the smallest members of my team, my grandchildren—the miracles of life. For them, there are no qualifiers. Get your team in place and stick with the team. I’d love to get to meet the Dali Lama and add him to my team, but that’s not likely to happen.

Read similar stories in I Oprahed, available for purchase on Amazon.com.

I Oprahed by Susan Kelley

This blog, like I Oprahed, the book, is specifically written for “women of a certain age . . . you and me.” Topics will include the battle of maintenance, the care of our aging parents, widowhood and dating after a certain age, adult children and the parents who love them anyway, returning to school, and finding your mojo and having a ball while doing it. If you are a woman who continues to pursue her dream, regardless of age or life situation, this blog is for you. What have you got to lose?

In reading my stories you will find validation, because we are all in this together.

I Oprahed is a collection of loosely linked essays that feature a humorous look at the aging process. My goal is to help empower all women to fight the good fight for their dignity, skills, and deserved respect in the face of mounting invisibility—while having fun.  Along the way you will find clever tips and quotable lines that you will soon be emailing your friends.

For starters, here’s my favorite quote from Ruth Gordon, from an interview she gave when she was in her sixties. It’s my mantra and I try to live by it. She was asked how she finally became a successful actress so late in life (in her mid-sixties). Her answer:

“Never give up, never listen to the facts, and work harder than anybody else.”

I was just wondering why some women  never give up on beauty and youth while others give up too soon.  At some point in the aging process,  many women start to look like men.  They take on the shape of a fire hydrant, ignore obvious facial hair and have their hair cut short.  GIRLZ TO MEN!  Don’t let it happen to you.